Meet Ben Andrews, you’ll find him at the The Happy Wombat in Newcastle’s Hunter Street, he is just the man you’ll want to find to make you his signature barista coffee or pour you a pint of craft beer.

In 2014 Ben joined the NDIS as part of the early intake into the NDIS’s Hunter trial site, and this was when he got the opportunity to fulfil his ambition to train for a career in the catering trade. This in itself was a major achievement for Ben, who has Down syndrome. Now 29, Ben has worked at The Happy Wombat since completing his Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSA) course several years ago. It took Ben 12 weeks to do the RSA course, travelling down to Gosford every Wednesday with a support worker, but he was determined and eventually got his ticket.

Ben is possibly the happiest barman on Australia’s east coast and certainly the proudest of his ability “ to pour the perfect beer” , according to employer and mentor Luke Tilse. “ There’s nothing Ben enjoys more than pulling beers and making coffees ,” Luke says. “He handles all aspects of the bar including the till, and he knows exactly what all his regular customers want. ”

“Before he started at The Happy Wombat Ben would never have had the confidence to go into a shop on his own or engage in conversations with people he didn’t know,” his mother Winnie says. “The difference is just amazing.”

Ben does four shifts a week on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, working the bar and making coffees as part of the front-of-house team.

Luke says that as the father of a son with Down syndrome he’s found Ben’s workplace journey personally inspiring. “For me it’s a bit like looking at the other end of the spectrum and seeing my own son being where Ben is now, 20 years down the track,” Luke says. “It’s been so educational.” 

Being in a mainstream work environment has allowed Ben to pick up a lot of work skills informally, just by being able to ask questions or see how his colleagues do things until he has memorised the process.

“We’ve never put him on a formal training program but by doing things the way we have he now knows all the beers and coffees and how much we charge for them, then tots it all up on the till,” Luke says. “He’ll often run for an hour without needing to ask any questions.”

Resource: https://www.ndis.gov.au/